Art across the street

 

Located at the corner of the busy blvd. de Maisonneuve Ouest and rue Mackay is Di-Octo II by Anthony Howe.  This 8m high kinetic sculpture was commissioned for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and subsequently donated to Concordia University for Canada’s 150^th and Montreal’s 375^th anniversaries.  

The mesmerizing motions of the metal parts, amidst the heavy traffic, are a gem to ponder in arguably the most artistic city in Canada.  And to me, art is not something an individual or a people are born with, but the will to learn and exercise.

Hope to show more on my recent trip to Montreal in the near future.

Parallels of Longing

Parallels of Longing

2026

Pigmented cement, natural moss, steel balls and rods, acrylic, spray paints

Walls define space.  Doors and windows question it. 

These apertures offer passage, light and air; yet they also cultivate expectation, distance and secrecy.  They invite our gaze as readily as they reject it.  Between what is revealed and what is withheld lies a web of psychological nuances. 

This work attempts to deconstruct and magnify their essence through physical and incorporeal means.  Beyond the nothingness they frame, it is the closure of these apertures that speaks with different agendas.  The two siblings, rivalrous at times, reflect the states of mind intrinsic within us.

Perhaps doors and windows operate more than mere incidental components of a building.  They could be the unwitting representations of our inner selves, cast into brick and mortar.

Note:  This work took me quite a while, 6 months in fact, to work out from concept to realization.  There was struggle on addressing the departure from less figurative expressions without leaving the audience among clouds.  There are also issues on layering of visuals, materials use and technicalities, among all other difficulties.  The most important consideration is sticking my gun to a strong concept.  Hope I have done just enough of the above.

 

Artwork on ‘Doors and Windows’

 This is an update on the piece and the road to completion is near.  I’d like to share the process of ideas generation, material studies, casting techniques and volume calculations.

In the pipeline and equally important, thoughts on the artwork write-up and the title are being consolidated.  Yes, it deserves a better name than ‘Doors and Windows’, I guess. 

Annual Juried Exhibition 2026, Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville, ON

The Juror’s Talk hosted by Hannah Keating and Jeffery Nye on March 26 was exceedingly rewarding.  Not only was I able to exchange ideas with them (see picture over the discussion on my work), the get-to-know-each-other with fellow artists couldn’t be missed.

 

There were a number of good works of which I could only show but a few here.  All other pieces were by no means undistinguished.

 

Check out all works with artists’ statements at here: https://www.latchamartcentre.ca/exhibitions/. Credit: Some images courtesy of Latchman Art Centre.

 

The exhibition is open from Mar. 16 to Apr. 25, 2026.

 

Latcham Art Centre

The annual juried exhibition of Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville, ON. is on from Monday, March 16 to Saturday, April 25, 2026.  Many of the artworks chosen are contemporary and of high standard.

One of my works – Many Lives of Load-bearing is also on show.

 

Images source: www.instagram.com/latchamartcentre

 

Doors and Windows

 

Watch this blog for the finished artwork.

Archaeological 'Discovery'

 

An archaeological 'work' is underway on 

Footprints | 51°30’28”N, 0°7’40”W. 

Revisit this site for progress and completion.

Cultural Expressions for CHANGE

 

Expedition Self (on show in the gallery)

2024

21.5x16x21cm/8.25x6.25x8.5in (HxWxD)

Paper collage, acrylic on cement cast from mold

Take a trip to discover oneself – this is how people used travelling to explore the world and, at the same time, to understand, re-establish or find themselves.  In truth, to know who we are is to reinforce our identities within the community.  Today, more people are exploring alternatives to sharpen these senses in pursuit of the same goal.  

This paper collage and painted sculpture draws inspiration from Teatro del Mondo* by Aldo Rossi (1931-97). Dramas were held in this floating theatre amid journeys on the open sea. The architect used the discourse of travelling and stage to signify life’s journeys for his passengers. Whilst examining the duality of realism and fantasy through this toy-like theatre, one may redefine anchors of one’s own existence in order to project afresh into society.

 Beyond Venice, showboats like this could be found across continents - from the rivers of the US to the waterways in Asia.  They formed the sources of imagination, dialogues and convergence.

 

*Teatro del Mondo (Theatre of the World) was created for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 1980.  This moving theatre was later transported to Dubrovnik for the International Theatre Festival in the same year.  Through the play of collage and setting, this artwork seeks to open up mediums much needed for confluence of ideas and communications.

Many Lives of Load-bearing

Many Lives of Load-bearing

2025

15x16x37.5cm/6x6.3x14.8in (HxWxD)

Cement, steel nails, embroidery, fabric particles and acrylic.

They appear in groups and are seen in solitude to mark venerable gestures.

Columns rise, hold and perhaps falter.  They stand with resolve, are built for weight and endurance.  But an objective is not a promise.  Time weathers and purpose eludes with age.  A column's strength may have its fragility foretold.  This work examines the lives of columns as support and symbol - of vitality, permanence and their flickering existences.

To immerse within and let water take over our eyes: it can be poured onto the pod to glide through the crevices to anoint the columns.

Pictures at an exhibition...

 

...in Woodstock Art Gallery, Ontario.  Some excellent works are shown and a few selected from Visual Elements 67 Juried Exhibition.

Kim Wilkie, Metaphysical Blooms, 2024, acrylic paint, 

embroidery yarn on canvas

Gwenda Dieleman, Weighted #1, 2024, collage: graphite drawing, 

paste paper

Lisa Gerrard, Enigma Finale, 2024, acrylic and 

extra heavy gel on canvas

Kim Douglas Harrison, Port Stanley Days, 2024, oil on wood panel

Laura Bydlowska, Blue Valley, 2025, printmaking collage, gouache, 

ink and wood carving on wood substrate

Michael Browse, Crossing, 2025, oil and cold wax medium on canvas

Johnnene Maddison, Grandma's Cellar, 2024, acrylic and 

collage on canvas

Myself, Many Lives of load-bearing, 2025, 

cement, steel nails, embroidery, fabric particles and acrylic paints

Concurrently, two separate exhibitions in the gallery are:

Lyn Carter, The Pinks, 2025, six digital screens with looped animations

Jacquie Poole, Present in the Moment, paintings and other mixed 

media works spanning his career of many years

Trajectory on the making of ...

 

Click on the above for the complete article by myself on thesecretdoor.ca.

Review from Vincent Moleveld of onlinegallery.art

 

For those who are interested in the above review of my artworks, please click on above.

Woodstock Art gallery, ON

 

Check out three exhibitions concurrently held in Woodstock Art Gallery, ON in July, 2025 and one with my most recent works - Many Lives of Load-bearing.  Click on the artwork to see more details.